My mum suffers from anxiety disorder, she suffers quite badly with it, she has talking therapy and CBT, plus distraction techniques, any more advice would be appreciated.
Anyone here challenged with depression or someone in their lives? Personally a 11 yr chunk of life was taken from me from 1991-2002...given A/D's and they were worthless. The article says: short term can help, but not months/years. What I don't find in this article is addressing the thyroid and this turned out to be my issue...got it "fixed" by a smart doc and depression was gone... Don't dismiss the thyroid, there are 60 some symptoms of sluggish thyroid and Depression is High On the List. Here is the Link https://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...bid=1624834485 STORY AT-A-GLANCE The serotonin hypothesis posits that low serotonin levels in your brain are responsible for symptoms of depression. However, there’s little to no evidence for this. A number of studies have debunked the serotonin hypothesis, which is the basis upon which drug makers market SSRI antidepressants like Prozac, Lexapro and Zoloft According to recent research, “The main areas of serotonin research provide no consistent evidence of there being an association between serotonin and depression, and no support for the hypothesis that depression is caused by lowered serotonin activity or concentrations” The primary effect of SSRIs is to superimpose an abnormal drug state over your symptoms, much like recreational drugs and alcohol would. The small benefits seen in some drug trials are due to emotional numbing This numbing effect comes at a steep price, as it also prevents you from experiencing emotional highs and does little to counteract the loss of energy, interest and motivation that are so characteristic of depression Researchers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently published the most comprehensive analysis of antidepressant clinical trial data submitted to the FDA, including unpublished trials. The evidence showed antidepressants outperformed placebo in only 15% of patients, and almost exclusively in those with the most severe depression Do your research folks....but if no issue, then ignore this info.
Placebos are an interesting phenomenon and may be related to faith healing, in my opinion. Hopefully, this won't offend those who believe in faith healing, since placebos and the laying on of hands are both about faith, after all. The power of faith is emphasized in the Christian Bible, so it makes sense, to me, to consider that people may be healed through faith, whether that faith comes from the belief that a pill or a capsule will heal you or that you can be healed through the laying on of hands or some other religious ritual. I am sure that people are healed through faith, and that seems to be why placebos work. In order for a drug to be considered effective, it has to work more than 50% of the time because placebos often work half the time. That said, I don't want to detract from the OP, which is about more than the effectiveness of placebos. Unfortunately, I don't know a lot about antidepressants, having never had a need for them. In my limited experience, most drugs intended for use in mental health disorders seem to have incomplete and sometimes negative effectiveness. Maybe I'd better stop because I'm sure to offend someone.
Long ago I went to the doctor because of a flu or something. He was a colleague of my husband, a physician's assistant. This doc told me the secret of general medicine. You will either get better from this or not without medicine. He asked ME if I wanted a prescription. Back then, people were upset, he said, if they did not get one. So they got antibiotics for a lot of things they should not have. Later, they found that this produced 'super' bugs. I felt better just knowing I would be better in 3 or 4 days even without a pill. But what he had actually said was I would get better from it or DIE from it, because we often kidded, being friends. As I left I told him to be careful who he said that to.
I find the power to self-heal (the power of positive thinking) to be a fascinating subject. Regarding antidepressants: I've known (and we've all heard stories of) folks who have been on them and loathed the side effects to the point they would rather live with the original malady than have the substitute illness imposed by the meds.
All this means to me is that 6 out of 7 people who are being treated for depression are mis-diagnosed. And it you're being treated for a disorder that you don't have, then of course a sugar pill will be as effective as the real thing.
It's interesting how exercise (endorphins?) can fix things, but when you're in that state of being, motivation is tough to find.
@John Brunner A friend of ours who lives about 3.5 hours drive from us ( where hubby lived when I first met him) a industrial town called ….Whyalla SA known for iron ore BHP smelting works. Anyway she used to work full time until prob 12 years ago ,then she went on antidepressants as her now deceased husband was very abusive to anyone not just her …. he died about 8 years ago at age 69 . Since he’s died she gets out of bed ….walks about 25 steps to the lounge room and sits there all day in between napping ( in bed ) Her once blue Lino kitchen floor is more black as is 90% of the rest of the home that was known as a housing trust property ( 1/2 a duplex joined home ) Sad ….she gets no help what so ever ( her sister lives in an adjoining attached home) she can’t even shower herself
There's lots of wasted life out there. One wonders if you can ever tease out the early experiences that may have caused it, or how those experiences may have changed brain chemistry, or if it's been a purely biological issue all along. Without judging, there are often reasons we are attracted to certain types of people. Sometimes things "just happen," but not often. Also, I think that so much of modern life is incompatible with our true nature that some cannot flourish in it. I think most of us feel invigorated when we get out in nature.
I wish more time would be spent trying to figure out how to fix a problem than covering it up with a pill.
When an antidepressant makes you more depressed than you were before you started them, there's something wrong. I lasted about six weeks last summer on an antidepressant until I called it quits. Couldn't stand the side effects.
I didn't go on anti depressants because I was told you could not just go off of them. I was not going to get permission from a doctor to quit something that was not going to work for me.
If a person suffers from mild depression or seasonal depression, SAM-e works pretty well for some people. It takes about 4 days to kick in for some, and a week for others. It is over the counter. It is a little pricey, but does elevate your mood and is good for your joints.
if it's situational and not clinical....the mind is the most powerful tool.... depression is part of life...we need tools to help...coping mechanisms too...i used to make a joke about those coping things being on sale so i stocked up ...filled all my shelves and cabinets.... got better through my own mind...now those mechanisms are just rolling over the floor!. i always make jokes
There are a lot of OTC things that can help but for me and a 11 yr clinical depression, once my thyroid was supported, depression GONO...... We are all adults and I don't believe anyone sets out to offend others.....it's points of views and opinions on everything.